Tuesday, December 20, 2016

Crescent Hill by Jackie Wang

Title: Crescent Hill

Author: Jackie Wang

Genre: Holiday/Contemporary Romance

Release Date: December 20, 2016

Blurb

Roman Finnegan fixes hotels for a living. Give him two weeks with any failing hospitality business and he'll make it profitable again. But his latest charity project, Crescent Hill Lodge, may be beyond saving.

The owners refuse to acknowledge their financial problems, the staff are disrespectful, the hideous rooms are filthy, and the entire Summers family is on the verge of bankruptcy. If they can’t turn things around before the new year, they’ll have to shut down the lodge. The only person keeping the business afloat is the owners' daughter and hotel manager, Magnolia (Maggie) Summers. She's hard-working, loyal and kind to a fault. She also has big dreams that are stifled by her inner demons. Despite trying to stay professional, Roman falls hard for this sweet, small-town girl. So hard, in fact, that he wants to bring her back to London with him. His gift: an all-expense paid winter holiday in Europe. All Maggie has to do is say yes. Only thing is, Maggie’s past is littered with broken hearts, unfulfilled promises, and stolen dreams. She’s too scared to leave her family, hometown, and safety net behind. She doesn’t think Roman can make her happy. He needs to convince her otherwise…before his flight back to the UK first thing Christmas morning.

Famous hotel fixer Roman arrives at Crescent Hill to help turn its fortune around. What he finds is a family who have lost their passion for their business and are stuck, reluctant to change. The only person who wants to genuinely make changes is the hotel's general manager and owner's daughter, Maggie.

Roman was inspired by British celebrity chef, Gordon Ramsey: famous for his potty mouth, no holds barred comments and fiery temper. Whilst the author has tried to capture these qualities it didn't quite work. In her desire for Roman to be controversial yet likable, he is always saying something nasty before trying to out of the hole he dug for himself, which watered down his impact. I struggled a little with Maggie as well as a character as she was very closed off, but had the most common sense yet...well I'll leave you to discover.

There was a humour to this make over that made this read. For me the second part of the book was the stronger part for me.

My heart leaped into my throat as I watched her draw closer. Despite all the tears she’d shed, and the humiliation that crushed her between the shoulder blades, she looked radiant. Her eyes, those eyes that captivated me from day one, they studied me. Her lips, whose silky contours once made me rapturous with need, they opened, and then shut again.

Unspoken words floated in the air between us, mingling with dust motes and fading memories.

Despite her mistakes, despite the hateful words I said to her, I just felt sadness now. Anger had dissipated into melancholy and heartache. My body shook with grief; it mourned what could have been between us, but never would be. I wanted to be her hero. But she was never mine to save. The harder I tried, the faster we crumbled. The faster we crumbled, the harder we tumbled. I couldn’t be her hero. And that just about destroyed me.

How did we come to this? How did we go from strangers to friends, to lovers, and back to strangers again?

Author Bio

JACKIE WANG fell in love with writing at thirteen and published her first novel at twenty-four. She writes new adult and contemporary romances about feisty heroines and the alpha heroes who love them. When she's not hunched over her laptop, Jackie is reading, hiking, or kayaking. She lives in Vancouver, Canada, with her husband and daughter.